Have you ever thought that it is not the dreams you possess that form your path in life, but the influence of the people with whom you surround yourself? The author of “The Boat” composed a theme to the story to relay the message that you should not let the opinions of others have a controlling influence on your decisions in life. There are many narrative techniques that this author used to communicate the theme of this story. Three of these specific and effective techniques are: narration in first person; past and present tense narration; and repetitive narration. Each of these techniques contributes to the effective communication of the theme.
First person narration opens a barrier in the main characters mind, allowing the readers to see what they would not have seen from any other point of view. The use of the narrative technique of first person helps the readers see the narrators most inner thoughts, the events from the past and the present, as well as helping the readers connect to the story. First person narration lets the readers in on the narrator’s most inner thoughts, which mainly are the recollections of his father. He remembers many details of his father like their trips on the boat, the state of his father’s room, and even how his father had dressed and smelled like. This proves how highly he thought of his father, showing the readers that his father had a huge influence on his life. Since the narration is in first person, we also get to see the events from the past and the present which helps communicate the theme by showing us how his life then had a strong influence on his life now. He had a strong tie with his father in the past, and we see how he became quite like his father in the presen...
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.... This is to symbolize that finally, when the father dies, he isn’t under the mother’s influence anymore, and doesn’t need to continue on his life revolving around fishing. In conclusion, the use of the repetition in
Reid 4 these cases shows how the influence of others can take control of your life, which helps communicate the thesis.
The narrator’s life was not formed by his very own hopes and dreams. His life was formed on the influence that other people had on him. The effective narrative techniques that I had touched on are narration in first person, past and present tense narration, and repetitive narration. As you can see, all of these techniques contributed to making the communication of the theme, being that you cannot let others opinions have an influence on your decisions in life to the point of where they take control, very effective.
In “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod, the mother shows the importance of tradition to her, which has been cemented in her since youth. Throughout the piece, the reader realizes that the mother comes from a large traditional family of fisherman, which in effect the mother’s most defining characteristic was that she “was of the sea, as were all her people, and her horizons were the very literal ones she scanned with her dark and fearless eyes”. Tradition and her inherited family values shaped her personality that was shown throughout the piece, such as her diligence during her husband’s fishing excursions to her stubbornness throughout the family’s hardships. In a sense, a large part of her identity came directly from her traditions, which she felt
“The effect of the narrator's telling of this story upon the reader, as well as of the mariner's telling of his tale upon the wedding-guest, make narration itself fundamental (as it is in Frankenstein)” (Dr. Michael Rossington) Therefore, this essay will talk about the different narrators found in both literary works and its narrative structure.
Her emotions and internal battles are made tangible to a lesser degree through the fluent and descriptive language, but obviously no amount of intimate emotions can be conveyed easily without the use of First Person Point of View. The structure of the novel is somewhat like a diary, making it seem like she is revealing her innermost thoughts and feelings, which vary and change erratically as she reveals the nature of her relationship with her father.
...He is still anchored to his past and transmits the message that one makes their own choices and should be satisfied with their lives. Moreover, the story shows that one should not be extremely rigid and refuse to change their beliefs and that people should be willing to adapt to new customs in order to prevent isolation. Lastly, reader is able to understand that sacrifice is an important part of life and that nothing can be achieved without it. Boats are often used as symbols to represent a journey through life, and like a captain of a boat which is setting sail, the narrator feels that his journey is only just beginning and realizes that everyone is in charge of their own life. Despite the wind that can sometimes blow feverishly and the waves that may slow the journey, the boat should not change its course and is ultimately responsible for completing its voyage.
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive hurricane in American history, made landfall in Louisiana with winds of one hundred and twenty-seven miles per hour (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts”). The sheer magnitude of the amount of lives and property lost was enormous, and it was triggered simply by warm ocean waters near the Bahamas ("How Hurricane Katrina Formed"). Nature was indifferent to whether the raging winds and rain would die off in the ocean or wipe out cities; it only follows the rules of physics. A multitude of American authors has attempted to give accounts and interpretations of their encounters with the disinterested machine that is nature. Two authors, Stephen Crane and Henry David Thoreau, had rather contrasting and conflicting interpretations of their own interactions with nature. Crane’s work, “The Open Boat,” is story based on his experience as a survivor
We make important choices everyday that can affect our futures. Whether it is deciding what to eat for lunch or deciding what college to go to, these decisions can affect our lives in many ways. Choice is the act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. By making a smart choice, your health and welfare can be much better but if you make a bad choice, you future can be different than what you intended it to be. Whether it is a mild choice or a major one, choices can affect the way your life unfolds in the future. In the book, The Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings, the main character Brady Parks is faced with a major dilemma. He has to make a decision to either turn in is friends for murder or to live
“The Boat”, narrated by a Mid-western university professor, Alistar MacLeod, is a short story concerning a family and their different perspectives on freedom vs. tradition. The mother pushes the son to embrace more of a traditional lifestyle by taking over the fathers fishing business, while on the other hand the father pushes the son to live more autonomously in an unconstrained manner. “The Boat” focuses on the father and how his personality influences the son’s choice on how to live and how to make decisions that will ultimately affect his life. In Alistair MacLeod’s, “The Boat”, MacLeod suggest that although dreams and desires give people purpose, the nobility of accepting a life of discontentment out weighs the selfishness of following ones own true desires. In the story, the father is obligated to provide for his family as well as to continue the fishing tradition that was inherited from his own father. The mother emphasizes the boat and it’s significance when she consistently asked the father “ How did things go in the boat today” since tradition was paramount to the mother. H...
"The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop is saturated with vivid imagery and abundant description, which help the reader visualize the action. Bishop's use of imagery, narration, and tone allow the reader to visualize the fish and create a bond with him, a bond in which the reader has a great deal of admiration for the fish's plight. The mental pictures created are, in fact, so brilliant that the reader believes incident actually happened to a real person, thus building respect from the reader to the fish.
In Pat Conroy’s, The Lords of Disciple, first person narration is used to develop the story. Seth Reilly, a writer and fiction author, talks about what first person narration is. Reilly states in his article for aspiring novelists, “First-person perspective is writing from the point of view of your narrator, putting across the world as they see it” (Reilly). While first person narration puts the reader in the narrator’s head, this point of view has multiple advantages and disadvantages. When talking about the advantages of first person narration Reilly states, “first person can effectively communicate how each moment feels; delivering sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, all through the prism of your narrator” (Reilly). This is one of the
Alistair Macleod’s “The Boat” is a tale of sacrifice, and of silent struggle. A parent’s sacrifice not only of their hopes and dreams, but of their life. The struggle of a marriage which sees two polar opposites raising a family during an era of reimagining. A husband embodying change and hope, while making great sacrifice; a wife gripped in fear of the unknown and battling with the idea of losing everything she has ever had. The passage cited above strongly presents these themes through its content
The influence of the people around you has a great impact on your life. In In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez and in Journey to Jihad by Ben Taub, radicalization is due to the influences of others. Minerva’s rebellion was caused by both Sinita and Trujillo. Patria’s rebellion was caused by the influences of Minerva and the Church. Jeojen’s radical actions were due to his girlfriend, as well as his neighbor. Minerva, Patria, and Jeojen all epitomize the significance of influential people within one’s life.
“The Open Boat” was written by Stephen Crane in 1897. This is an extremely powerful short story fictionalized by one of Crane’s own experiences out at sea. He is able to use what has happened to him, and spice it up to turn his story into a fictional account everyone can relate to. The reasons this story is so powerful is because of the literary devices Crane uses throughout the story, especially symbolism. In “The Open Boat,” Crane uses the four main characters, the dinghy, the waves, and the sea-weed as symbols to produce a microcosm of society.
Stephen Crane’s story “The Open Boat” concerns four people who are trying to reach land after surviving a shipwreck off of the Florida coast. During the course of the story, they face dangers that are real physical threats, but they also have to deal with trying to make sense of their situation. The characters in this story cope with their struggles in two ways: individually, they each imagine that Nature, or Fate, or God, is behind their experiences, which allows them to blame some outside force for their struggle, and together, they form a bond of friendship that helps them keep their spirits up. .
Having Christopher narrating the book in first person is important because it is easier for the reader to understand his written account of the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Sheers dog (Wellington); A step by step investigation is projected and shown to the reader when narrated in first person.
In the story "The Open Boat," by Stephen Crane, Crane uses many literary techniques to convey the stories overall theme. The story is centered on four men: a cook, a correspondent, Billie, an oiler who is the only character named in the story, and a captain. They are stranded in a lifeboat in stormy seas just off the coast of Florida, just after their ship has sunk. Although they can eventually see the shore, the waves are so big that it is too dangerous to try to take the boat in to land. Instead, the men are forced to take the boat further out to sea, where the waves are not quite as big and dangerous. They spend the night in the lifeboat and take turns rowing and then resting. In the morning, the men are weak and exhausted. The captain decides that they must try to take the lifeboat as close to shore as possible and then be ready to swim when the surf inevitably turns the boat over and throws the men into the cold sea. As they get closer to land a big wave comes and all the men are thrown into the sea. The lifeboat turns over and the four men must swim into shore. There are rescuers waiting on shore who help the men out of the water. Strangely, as the cook, captain and correspondent reach the shore safely and are helped out of the water, they discover that, somehow, the oiler has drowned after being smashed in the surf by a huge wave. (255-270) “The Open Boat’s” main theme deals with a character’s seemingly insignificant life struggle against nature’s indifference. Crane expresses this theme through a suspenseful tone, creative point of view, and a mix of irony.